


Deliveries

by midoritakamine



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bakery, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Brief appearance by Subaru, Gen, enstars secret santa 2017
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-23
Updated: 2017-12-23
Packaged: 2019-02-18 21:05:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13108506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/midoritakamine/pseuds/midoritakamine
Summary: Tsumugi instead holds up the box of donuts and says, "Alright, since we're all together, let's delivery these to Keito-kun~"





	Deliveries

**Author's Note:**

> I'M GENUINELY SO SORRY THIS HAS TAKEN TO THE VERY END i got hit with a lot of personal things like work and mental health and writer's block but i finished it!!!!!!
> 
> happy holidays to my enst ss, vani, and to everybody who reads

"Deliveries~! I'm real fast at running, so I'll make them!" Before anybody else can speak up, the door is flung open and Mitsuru takes a hearty dash outside. The bag of freshly baked breads crinkles, the only sound that could still be heard from inside the cafe aside from his joyous laughter. Eventually, it faded as well.

Sora makes eye contact, and before he can ask, Tsumugi waves a hand and shakes his head. "No, no, Sora-kun! You can't go with him. We need you to make a delivery too. It's going to be into the rich half of town-"

"Is Sora going to deliver to the Council?" He smiles, rocking back and forth on his heels as he waits by the back door. Beside him, one of their delivery broomsticks glitters in its hopes that Sora chooses it to ride out on. Tsumugi, despite himself, smiles back and nods, handing the bag over along with the slip that has an address scribbled hastily on it. Sora takes it excitedly, grabbing a broomstick next to the shining one. "Hihi~ Sora will do his best!"

"Sora," comes a voice from behind the counter. Before either he or Sora can react, a quick zap of some sparkling spell whips by Tsumugi's head, barely missing his ear. Its intended target, the broomstick Sora holds, is hit and immediately does the object seem to take on a personality of its own, slipping between Sora's legs and mounting him on its back itself.

"Uwah-!" Sora wavers on the broomstick, but quickly finds his balance before Tsumugi has to reach out and help him. He looks anything but afraid or shocked; the best word to describe him would be ecstatic. "Aah, Shishou!" His knuckles are almost white from how hard he grips the neck of the broomstick. "You brought Sora's broomstick to life! Sora is so grateful!"

Sora's Shishiou doesn't look up from the book resting on the counter in front of him, his other hand busy making a rolling pin flatten some freshly-made dough. He is unmistakably smiling though, trying to hide it behind the back of the hand that elevated the broomstick. "You're welcome, Sora," he says as he finally glances up. "Now go deliver those rolls, please."

"Sora will do his best!"

As they have their exchange, Tsumugi slips behind Sora to open the door to their back entrance. It's much larger than the front door, this one made for takeoff and landing than simple entering and exiting. He's not so dumb as to stand in the entrance (which he had done once, where he got run over by a broomstick...) and he steps aside to allow Sora room to take off.

"Be safe!" Tsumugi calls after him, but Sora is already out of earshot and on his way towards the rich half of the town. "Ah..." he finds himself thinking aloud, "I wish I could make deliveries to that side of town again...~"

"No." He winces, glancing over his shoulder to meet an unfriendly glazed look. "Last time you went by yourself, you hung out with Tenshouin and his unruly bookworm guard dog."

"Natsume-kun is so harsh, aha..." Tsumugi brushes some of his hair from his face, shutting the door and stepping back behind the counter with Natsume. "My delivery was for Keito-kun, and Eichi-kun just happened to be there-"

" **_No excuses_ ** ." Natsume's tone takes on a dark, angered one, the hand controlling the rolling pin now making it levitate threateningly. Tsumugi rapidly waves his arms and laughs nervously, and after a few seconds of it Natsume begrudgingly allows the pin to return to rolling out the dough. "I don't know what to do with you, Senpai. You are bothersome. Go out on the floor and help Nito-senpai."

Debating with Natsume never gets him anywhere without retaliation, so Tsumugi takes an apron off the coat rack and ties it around his waist as he walks towards the small dine-in area. He notices a handful of customers in the shop, and an animated Nazuna talking to one of their regulars about the slice of cake he had just placed on the table.

"Hajime-chin made this one. Aren't you so proud of him?"

"Mhm~" Fork in mouth, alreadying enjoying the treat, Subaru nods and smiles around the utensil. "Yeah, yeah! He did real great on this one- Shinonon!" He waves a hand, spotting said boy in the window to the kitchen behind the counter. Hajime turns to look, and once he notices the cake slice sitting in front of Subaru does he smile wide. "This is amazing! Work even harder and you'll cook better than every mom in the city!"

It's written clearly on Hajime's face that he isn't sure to take the mom part of the compliment as such, or as an insult, but he smiles even wider at Subaru and waves back. The pink on his face is contagious, and Tsumugi finds his own cheeks pleasantly warm.

Nazuna, clapping, grinning his heart out; Subaru, mouth full with eyes alight; Hajime, cheeks burning and face hidden behind a hand. Even Natsume, when Tsumugi looks up, is smiling and humming as he directs the rolling pin to flatten more dough.

This, Tsumugi figures, is what he's been aiming for. A peaceful little bakery in a moderate part of the city... ah, it's almost like a novel to him. He spins on his heel and approaches a few other tables with a spring in his step, taking orders and delivering trays of cakes and donuts and bagels and more. He's happily surprised when, instead of making him fetch it himself, Natsume spares a moment to make the trays levitate towards him.

"Thank you, Natsume-kun~"

"Hm," and such similar noises are the only acknowledgement Natsume pays him, but he doesn't mind. Natsume acknowledging him without threat is a lot of progress for one day! He stands there for so long, giddily holding a box of donuts, that Natsume's sharp, "Oi, Senpai, those are for delivery too," almost escapes him. Almost.

Tsumugi's eyes glance up, wide as Natsume stares at him. "Wh- delivery? I'm going to do a delivery?"

Eyes roll, and the front door opens before Natsume can reply. "I'm back-!" Natsume's lips purse, annoyed at being interrupted, but he nods at Tomoya as he shuts the door behind him. He's notably empty-handed save for an envelope. "Hah, I'm so glad~! Hidaka-senpai really liked the baguettes..." His tone is a tad dreamy, his steps airily light as he moves to hand the envelope over to Natsume.

Natsume opens the flap, and from inside he pulls out a handful of yen. He counts it twice, glancing at his log book of orders, and nods to himself. He scribbles something beside the order Tomoya just finished, his other hand now commanding a tray of cookie dough into one of the ovens in the kitchen. Hajime shuts it after it goes in, and Natsume looks up at Tomoya with a smile. "You got a large tip, Mashiro."

Tomoya's index fingers poke together. He still looks as if he's on Cloud 9 when he says, "Ah... Hidaka-senpai told me he appreciated my deliveries every week and he wanted to start to tip me better because of it. His smile- he looked so princely!" His eyes turn towards the ceiling. "I want to be like that someday..."

Even if he's holding up the delivery of the donuts in Tsumugi's hands, neither he nor Natsume are bothered and even smile at Tomoya's babbling praise. "You will be someday, Mashiro-kun~" Tsumugi pats his head. "You're getting more princely by the day! Soon, you might even join the elites of the Council and live on that side of town-"

"Ah, I forgot, since Mashiro returned." Natsume closes the log book after pulling a serrated tab out. He extends it towards Tsumugi. "Your delivery. It's to your," his nose wrinkles up disdainfully, " _ friend _ , Hasumi Keito."

"Eh-? Keito-kun?" That's strange. Keito normally doesn't order such sweets... unless he's ordering them for somebody else. Likely Eichi, or if requested nicely by Eichi, even Wataru. Tsumugi opens the lid just to confirm that yes, a dozen glazed donuts are the contents. "He's ordering- this is weird."

"It is." After Tsumugi takes the address slip and receipt, Natsume flicks another spark of life into a broom lying against the back wall. This one bounces to life, however instead of slipping between his legs and elevating him like the previous one did Sora, this one knocks into Tsumugi's ankle spitefully.

"Ah- ow! Natsume-kun-!"

He only gets an amused grin in return, another toss of magic opening the backdoor. "Go on, Senpai," he encourages with a wicked sparkle in his eyes, "make the delivery to that Council brat."

The good in Tsumugi's heart makes him want to trust Natsume, but past experience tells him if he gets on this broom he'll only end up falling off it... "Thank you, Natsume-kun." He smiles awkwardly and slips away from the broom enchanted for him, instead grabbing a third off the wall. This time his own magic, tingling his fingertips like they had fallen asleep, flows out and envelopes the broomstick. It comes to life slowly, and he situates himself comfortably on it.

When he looks back, he realizes his mistake in not accepting Natsume's help as the wiry hairs of the Natsume-enchanted broom hit him in the face and cause him to lose his balance. "Uwah-?!" His arms flail, and unfortunately for him he tumbles to the floor. Luckily for Keito, and the bakery overall, Tomoya jumps and catches the box of donuts before they fall to the floor and scatter.

Natsume's laughter sounds through the bakery, and after a beat Subaru begins to snicker as well. When Tsumugi dejectedly looks up from the floor, even Tomoya is hiding a bit of a giggle behind his hand. "S-sorry, Aoba-senpai," he manages, biting his lip and extending a hand to help Tsumugi up, "I don't mean to-"

"Aha," even Tsumugi laughs now as he accepts the hand up, "it's alright~ I'm used to Natsume-kun's tricks by now. It's part of what makes him so cute!" He's surprised he doesn't have to duck any thrown objects from that comment, but realizes quickly it's only because Tomoya stands in between them and thus in the line of fire. Natsume wouldn't harm anybody unrelated to their personal dispute.

"Senpai, Mashiro," leaning on his elbow, chin in his palm, Natsume speaks up again. "Those donuts. Deliver them together. Mashiro," his eyes flick down to look him in the eye, "don't let Senpai stand and talk to Hasumi Keito for hours as he did last time. I'm relying on you."

Expectations placed, Tomoya's chest bubbles with warmth and he nods vigorously. "Of- ah, of course! I'll make sure our delivery is quick and simple!"

* * *

 

The delivery is simple, sure, but it is far from quick.

Tsumugi is a very at-his-own-pace person, and Tomoya's endurance never was high... their cafe's broomsticks could only hold one person at a time, and Tomoya never learned how to ride them. "They only respond if the rider has an intuition for magic," is the explanation Natsume gave when one refused to take off under Tomoya's weight. Disappointing, but not exactly surprising; the rest of his family, Nazuna and Hajime and Mitsuru, couldn't ride them so him not being able to either just made sense. Still...

"Uuu..." Tomoya leans against the brick pillar of a nearby building, rubbing at his thighs. Tsumugi stops, and offers a pitiful smile as he whines, "My legs can't take this walk! How do you do it, Aoba-senpai? All this walking?"

It's a fair question. Tsumugi doesn't have to do all this walking. His innate magic allowed him to ride broomstick and avoid the most tedious of travel methods. His answer comes simply though: "It's because I enjoy walking with friends like you, Mashiro-kun!"

The response takes Tomoya off-guard, his eyes wide and an embarrassed flush in his cheeks. "Me-?" His voice cracks. "But- Aoba-senpai, I'm just- I'm not somebody-"

Tsumugi chuckles behind a hand. "You are somebody worth my attention~ You're worth plenty of people's attention, Mashiro-kun. Nito-kun's and Shino-kun's and Tenma-kun's. Sora-kun's and Natsume-kun's," his voice drops a fraction, eyes alight, "and from what I've noticed, especially Hidaka-kun's and Hibiki-kun's!"

For a second, Tsumugi wonders if he said something wrong because Tomoya's eyebrow twitches, and his smile appears forced for a moment. It vanishes quickly, and he nods. "Ah, I see... thank you, Aoba-senpai. Working with you has helped me feel more confident in myself. You do so much for the bakery, even under Sakasaki-senpai's..." His eyes turn to the cobblestone below them, the tip of his shoe tapping nervously.

It's an unsolved question, why Natsume treats Tsumugi like this. Nobody asks it, nobody answers it, nobody brings it up save curious new employees who then learn to fall into silence again. Tsumugi laughs, resting a hand on Tomoya's head to assure him it's alright. This is something he's gotten used to, and worry from Tomoya isn't something he wants to contribute to.

"It's alright~"

"Is it?"

"Mhm."

"... okay..."

Tsumugi opens his mouth, about to reassure Tomoya again, but he's interrupted.

"Dash, dash, dashing~"

Right into Tomoya's back does Mitsuru collide. The both of them fall over, Tsumugi gasping as Tomoya yelps helplessly when Mitsuru's weight crashes down on him. A few stray heads turn their way, but nobody stops to ask if either of the boys are alright. Tsumugi, however, immediately kneels and raises his hands cautiously.

"M-Mashiro-kun!" He winces at the expression on Tomoya's face when Mitsuru sits up straight on his back, looking down at him curiously. "Tenma-kun... did you not see us?"

"I did," Mitsuru says, sliding off Tomoya's back and allowing him to wheeze fresh air into his lungs, "and I wanted to surprise you both but..." His face falls a bit, looking uncharacteristically worried as he rests a hand on Tomoya's shoulder. "I think I overshot... sorry, Tomo-chan!"

Tomoya looks like he wants to be annoyed, wants to whine in Mitsuru's face that the collision hurt and that he needs to be more careful when he dashes around, but one look at the surprisingly worried expression on Mitsuru's face wipes it from the tip of his tongue. Now, he averts his eyes and shrugs, sitting up on his knees. "Ah- don't worry about it, Mitsuru."

It almost hurts to be forgotten by the two, but instead of feeling that way Tsumugi turns the feeling into one of warmth and amusement. Their incredibly ordinary hard worker and their incredibly unusual hard worker having such a genuine friendship makes his heart skip.

_ Ah, I'd like to work with Sora-kun and Natsume-kun like this. _

Instead of voicing that, Tsumugi instead holds up the box of donuts and says, "Alright, since we're all together, let's delivery these to Keito-kun~"

"More deliveries~ Dash, dash, I'm real fast~"

"Wha- Mitsuru! Wait! I have the bill!"

Tsumugi grins and picks up his pace to chase after Mitsuru and Tomoya, holding the donuts close to his chest. This will be a fun story to tell Keito...~

* * *

 

"Shishou?"

Natsume glances up from the recipe book. Sora, empty-handed and broomstick resting against the wall, looks at him curiously. This is an expression that doesn't come out often, and the reason for it piques Natsume's interest immediately. "Yes, Sora?"

The tip of his shoe traces circles in the tile floor, but eventually he says, "Sora was wondering... can Shishou and Senpai and Sora make a delivery together one day?" He peers up at Natsume from behind his bangs. They've grown long again, and Natsume makes a note to cut them when they close up shop for the day. "... Sora misses when all three of the original Switch Bakery made deliveries together."

Making deliveries with Tsumugi is the absolute last thing Natsume wants to do. He's slow, he's too carefree, and he talks too much to the customers, slowing their delivery times. All that, and not to mention that he's chummy with all the residents of the Council, plus a few members in the rich half of town. It makes his eyelid twitch just imagining it.

He opens his mouth to say no, that one of the original three of them has to stay at the bakery all day to take phone orders and direct deliveries, but when he opens his eyes to tell Sora, he loses all his strength to. The want in Sora's eyes is too much, too... pure, and Natsume bites his tongue to keep from ruining it. Sometimes he swears Sora has placed a curse of endearment on him for he can hardly say no to whatever he asks.

This is again one of those times.

Swallowing the bad taste on his tongue at having to deal with Tsumugi's casual pace and over friendliness with those he hates, Natsume smiles and sets a hand on top of Sora's head, ruffling his hair. "Alright, Sora. We'll make the last delivery of the day together."

"Aah...~" Sora's eyes light up, and Natsume feels all the negativity leave his body, "Shishou... Sora loves Shishou and Senpai so much!"

"Mm, Shishou and Senpai both love Sora very much as well."


End file.
